Holyrood and Westminster set for constitutional clash over Brexit power grab

MSPS are set to ignite a constitutional crisis by backing legislation which could lead to an unprecedented legal battle between the Scottish and UK governments.

Amid continued stalemate between Edinburgh and London over the distribution of devolved powers after Brexit, Holyrood is due to pass its own alternative Brexit law today.

Introduced as a “fallback” option and regarded as a tactical device to wring concessions from London, the EU (legal continuity) Bill is now poised to become reality.

Only the Tories have so far opposed the legislation.

Both governments admitted an eleventh hour deal was unlikely, and they expected the Bill to proceed to its final Stage 3 vote.

When the SNP Brexit minister Michael Russell tabled the emergency legislation three weeks ago, he said his preference would be to withdraw it following a cross-border deal.

However the UK and Scottish government remain divided over what happens to 24 key devolved powers, including food standards, farm payments and procurement, after Brexit.

The UK wants them to lie at Westminster after repatriation from Brussels pending the creation of Uk-wide common frameworks to protect the UK internal market.

The Scottish Government says this “power grab” would undermine the devolution settlement, and at the very least Holyrood’s consent should be required to create frameworks, something Westminster regards as a veto power.

The Continuity Bill is intended to transfer devolved EU law into Scots law at Brexit if the two sides cannot reach agreement on how to amend the EU Withdrawal Bill in the Lords.

If the Continuity Bill passes, the dispute is likely to move swiftly to the UK Supreme Court.

UK law officers would have four weeks to refer the Bill and ask for it to be struck down.

Holyrood presiding officer Ken Macintosh has already said the Continuity Bill is invalid but the the Lord Advocate and Government insist it is legislatively competent.